Re what happened to the Hughes XV-9A Hot Cycle Helicopter
During my USAF career, I received an invitation for the �dedication� of the Hughes XV-9A to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC on May 6, 1970. In the course of trying to ascertain where the A /C was, I searched the Smithsonian website and did not find it in their inventory. Subsequently I received a response from the Smithsonian Aeronautics Division regarding the history of the �dedication�.
The aircraft was scheduled for delivery to the Smithsonian collection in May 1967 but actually arrived in August. It was shipped via railcar from Ft. Eustis and arrived as a wreck, which was not the Smithsonian's understanding of the aircraft's condition. The cockpit had been picked clean and there were multiple holes in the fuselage. Smithsonian correspondence does not make clear how much of this was due to improper handling and security by the railroad and how much was due to inadequate storage by the Army.
As it turns out my invitation is not related to the actual full size aircraft airframe that was never publicly displayed, but rather to a fairly small scale model (which is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center).
The net result was that at some point in the early seventies, the aircraft was deemed beyond reasonable restoration and scrapped. The Smithsonian did retain most of one of the hot cycle blades and it is still in storage at their facility in Suitland.
